The Business of Chocolate
Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques
I totally agree with susan. I loved the course myself Jeff.
By the way Pam williams was awarded the FCIA outstanding service to the industry this year
Forum Activity for @Omar Forastero
Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques
The Business of Chocolate
Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques
Hi, Jeff ~ Brad has given you some very good information to start with. It will at least give you a good idea of numbers.
I have taken the Ecole Chocolat course and am taking the current September Quality Assurance course and I have found their information wonderful to have at your fingertips. I am one of those who believe in the saying "Time is Money" and having an enormous amount of research done for you and supplied to you is incredibly helpful. Could I find that information myself? Of course. Most of us could but, I don't want to spend the time doing it when I could actually be working doing what I love. Ecole is a fantastic place to start. You will be educated as to the basics of the chocolate confectionary business and are supplied with recipes and assignments that all require your participation and research. Never underestimate how great it is to have some of the websites made available to you when you need to do research. It really is a very time intensive course but you can make it work with your schedule.
The articles are not focused on the dates but, rather, on the information provided which has saved me on many an occasion. And yes, like most courses, you will have to purchase a minimum of chocolate gear but they also supply you with discounts from providers.
Suzanne is correct in stating that you can find videos of tempering on YouTube. You can also find many more things about the chocolate world there. But, I now have a clearer idea of what I am looking for and what I want to do. I am more informed and experienced having taken the course at Ecole. In essence, I know what I don't know.
And lastly, the Forum that is comprised of Graduates, working chocolatiers, chocolate makers, large chocolate producers as well as equipment suppliers is a fantastic place to get help from your peers. We all have questions about our craft from time to time or want help "fixing" or "figuring" things. There is a huge range of experience on the Graduate Forum. It is also a wonderful place to check into when you just need a little support or need to share some good news.
I find that this network of support that has been generated by Pam Williams and Ecole Chocolate is something that fits in perfectly for those of us who are looking at career changes and can't travel to go to a brick and mortar school or can't afford it.
A phone call will get you any help you need while taking the course and thi instructors are well known, working and successful Chocolatiers.
I am so sorry that Suzanne did not like the course but, I can tell you that there are probably more of us out here who did.
Best of luck to you.
Susan
The Business of Chocolate
Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques
Deleted at member's request. January 20, 2012.
The Business of Chocolate
Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques
Jeff;Here are some numbers that will help you greatly with your calculations:1. Estimate that the average North American (assuming you're in North America) eats about 6lbs of chocolate per year. Multiply that by your local population, and you have rough local consumption stats.2. Average food cost in the food service industry is around 27-30% of Gross Sales. The chocolate industry is usually less - around 20% of gross sales. If you're positioning your business as an elitist in your local market, you can go as low as 15% of gross sales.3. Average labour cost in the food industry is 35-40% (yup, very high). Make sure to calculate your time into your labor costs. Too many business owners fail to do this, and create skewed financials. Remember: If you weren't going to do the job of running your business, you'd have to pay someone else to do it, so make sure to pay yourself. Also note that labour costs drop drastically with the introduction of automated equipment for certain tasks, but those costs are offset by the investment in the equipment, paired with amortized depreciation costs on that equipment (provided it's new).These numbers aren't written in stone, but are very good benchmarks to use when putting together your pro-forma financials.Also don't forget to account for such things as business licenses, business taxes, employee remittances, development permits, food safety training for staff, and utensils that one always seems to acquire over time.Remember: The Devil's in the details!Cheers;Brad Churchill www.SoChoklat.com
The Business of Chocolate
Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques
Thanks Dirke....I appreciate your responses!
The Business of Chocolate
Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques
you may want to join the " startup central group " here on chocolate life Lots of people running chocolate business in the group, you should post your question there.
The Business of Chocolate
Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques
I just finished the Ecole program, excellent course for learning how to make chocolate, history, technique and business. Not a lot on the business side but a little, still worth every penny. Your second question would probably entail writing a business plans as every business and idea of a business is different. You need to research your area and see, you will do that through Ecole. you may get a rough idea and answer to your questions after taking the course.There are loads of books on the chocolate business, check out Amazon.Good luck
The Business of Chocolate
Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques
Hi Everyone,
Can someone tell me where I can find information on the business of chocolate?
I'm looking to learn:
1. How to choose a regional market (I want to market chocolate online but also in a city/region
with enough populationto sustain a local artisanal chocolate business).
2. How much chocolate one needs to produce and sell for every 25K net incomedesired (I'm
sure there are variables such as overhead, etc. - looking for a rough estimate).
I read that someone suggested Ecolechocolat.com for learning about the business of chocolate
and I'm hoping to take one of their classes soon. Just wondering if you guys had ideas you
could share or could direct me to books on the topic.
Thanks so much,
Jeff
updated by @Jeff Slaughter: 04/11/25 09:27:36
Q-Grader for Chocolate
Posted in: Chocolate Education
Roasting is an art for sure. When I get beans I usually do a few small batches and go with the best roast. Blending is another art I hope to have some fun with.
Q-Grader for Chocolate
Posted in: Chocolate Education
I was reading an article recently about some coffee roaster who had just gotten his Q-Grader qualification. This appears to be an independent course / test that establishes how good your coffee palate is. Is there such a thing for chocolate? Would such a thing be useful now that there are now many small bean to bar chocolate operations, not to forget the large number of home brew chocolate makers? Would consumers be impressed if the roaster of their favorite bean to bar manufacturer had such a qualification? Would it make hiring a chocolate roaster easier if they had such a qualification assuming of course the industry becomes big enough for this sort of thing? Would it be useful for cocoa brokers to have such a qualification, so companies could feel more confident in purchasing beans? How would such a test be evaluated, single origin bars, well there are certainly enough bars from the same origin from different manufacturers. Would the test involve tasting the roasted bean or making a micro batch of liquor for evaluation as a drink or directly?
Anyway it is food for thought and I was just thinking out aloud above.
updated by @Tom: 04/23/15 08:52:54
molding
Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques
To have a larger spot you'll need less contraction of the finished piece. Less contraction means having more cocoa butter crystals and less fluid cocoa butter in the tempered chocolate prior to molding. You can push this pretty far, but you may need to increase the rate at which the pieces are cooled, or, due to the additional stable crystals, solidification may happen so quickly that the latent heat of crystallization that is released will not be able to be effectively removed, and you could end up with temper issues.In simple terms, create a "more tempered" chocolate prior to molding. It will me more viscous or "thicker." See how that works for you. Just be sure to have efficient cooling.
molding
Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques
I'm using a 50 mm round disc mold, 12 cellsand depositing with a syringe from a Rev 2. It starts pulling away from the outside and movestowards the center. It leaves a spot, quite nice looking,in the center when I unmold them. I'd like to make that spot bigger.Any ideas would be much appreciated.
updated by @dale montondo: 04/11/25 09:27:36
Chocolate Thermometers
Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques
I'm also an advocat of the infrared thermometer! After fiddling with a slow probe thermometer for a couple months i got so frustrated that infrared was the only way to go! I purchased a Fluke Mini 62 for just under 90$cnd on eBay it was some of the best money I've spent so far!
Chocolate Thermometers
Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques
I have learned that tempering is not proper term. the right term would be pre-crystallisation, because the stable beeta crystals what we need to have in our chocolate, don't form and line up correctly because of temperature. temperature is not the guarantee of good crystallisation. that is why you don't need to have or watch the thermometer constantly and worry about it. I bet all of you have been in the situation where you have done 'everything right' but the result is not what you wanted. the substance that makes those crystals is cocoa butter and if you just let it cool down on the table or pot, it will be still liquid but when you give it a movement, then it starts to crystallise. there is 3 main things for the proper pre-crystallisation, Time, Temperature, Movement...TTM. that is why the marble is used when doing the pre-crystallisation by hand. it is essential that in short Time you need to lower the Temperature of chocolate while constantly giving the Movement, because this is what gives and lines up the right crystals to the chocolate and when chocolate sample on your knife hardens in 3-5 minutes and has nice sheen, then it is ready. when not enough crystals it will not harden and when too much crystals it will have no sheen. so actually it is not a woo-doo and is more than easy to do pre-crystallisation without any thermometers, when you know and stick to the basic facts. thermometers with the big 'theory' about 'tempering' often just confuses people. try it...it's simple! good luck!
Chocolate Thermometers
Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques
Steve -
Thanks for following up and letting know everyone how things are going. Glad to know that the community was able to help you out.
:: Clay
Chocolate Thermometers
Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques
I know that this thread is a year old, but what a difference a year makes! I took your advice and purchased a quaity glass thermometer. I monitored the temperature faithfully. The bunnies came out fantastic! Each and every one of them!
Thanks for the tip, well worth the advice!
Chocolate Thermometers
Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques
When I first started learning to temper, I bought one of the glass chocolate thermometers, and it helped me greatly. Other people were using a regular metal thermometer, and I could never catch it before it got to hot. With the one specifically made for chocolate, I could see exactly where the temperature was, and wouldn't over heat it. I had to temper 30# at a time back then, and and it made a huge difference. Never used the infrared. I just use my machine now
Chocolate Thermometers
Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques
Thanks for all of the quick replies! I guess I get to go shopping....electronically speaking, that is.
Chocolate Thermometers
Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques
Infrared here too. Stir, stir stir.
Chocolate Thermometers
Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques
Yup, infrared for me too. I've got a couple of Coopers - some bigger ones and some little ones without the laser. They all work well.Barring that I use a Pyrex brand digital probe thermometer like this one. http://www.amazon.com/Pyrex-16484-Digital-Probe-Thermometer/dp/B0002MH0R2/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&s=home-garden&qid=1270515232&sr=1-5
Chocolate Thermometers
Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques
Ok, my tempering skills are not sharp. They are getting better but not there yet. I bought one of those paddle type of thermometers, but I am not happy with it. Is there any thermometer that is better than others? Digital over glass? Glass over digital? Brand or generic?
As Vinny Barbarino would say... I am sooooo confused!
Thank,
Steve K.
updated by @Steve Kurz: 04/11/25 09:27:36
April Fool's Day Chocolate "Treats"
Posted in: Opinion
Hi Clay,I'm glad you enjoyed it. It's good to laugh at ourselves every once in a while too! I would send you a test sample of the chocolate to try for yourself, but it expired on April 1.
April Fool's Day Chocolate "Treats"
Posted in: Opinion
Chocolate Life member Walter Plante posted a link to a blog (kokobuzz) about Free Range Chocolate from/by New Leaf .
Free Range chocolate? Hmmmmm. April 1st? Double hmmmm . I went to the site to take a look for myself. There I read:
In order to be certified as Free Range, growers are not allowed to cut cacao pods from the trees since cutting can result in scaring and discomfort for the trees. Instead the pods must fall naturally and only when they are ready. According to Chuck (no last name), a 27th generation cacao farmer from Madagascar: It takes tremendous patience to wait for the pods to drop from the trees so that we can collect them. Sometimes there is a little bit of bruising on the outside of the pods, but it doesnt affect the cacao beans inside that much really.
I won't reveal a spoiler ... but I do recommend linking over to the site and reading the post, it's a lot of fun (hint: take a look at the acronyms for the "free range" certification agencies).
It brought a welcome smile to my face.
Thanks, Walter, for bringing this to my attention.
Does anyone else have any favorite April Fool's Day Chocolate Treats to share?
updated by @Clay Gordon: 04/19/15 20:12:19
Graphic for Business
Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques
Danielle.Great. Send the file to andre (dot) terrabrasilis (at) gmail (dot) comI will work on it for you.Take care!Andre
Graphic for Business
Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques
Andre- Thanks for the offer. It is a paint option, but I can save as a JPEG or GIF (nice thing about paint). That should allow you to change it to an illustrator file. I know a bit about graphic conversion (had to do it over the years), and know that this is possible. I appreciate any help you can give me.Danielle
Graphic for Business
Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques
Danielle,I am not a graphic designer, but I do have Photoshop and Illustrator. If this is a straight forward conversion, send me the file (if you feel comfortable, of course) and I can do it for you.Now, you mentioned you created the file on Paint?? Is this correct? I am not sure whether this type of file is importable into Illustrator, but I am willing to give it a try.PM me!
Graphic for Business
Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques
What program did you create the graphic in? If it's Photoshop I think you can get the outline(s) of the shapes, turn them into paths, and then export to EPS.Otherwise, I would look into the graphic arts department of a local community college. There is probably someone there who could do the conversion for you for a reasonable price.
Graphic for Business
Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques
I created my own graphic for my business, but need to find a graphic artist that can convert it from a paint file to a illustraor file in order to send it to companies for printing on ribbons/t-shirts/labels. I would prefer not to buy a full version of illustrator...any ideas?
updated by @Danielle: 04/11/25 09:27:36
the broma process ebook for downloading
Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques
PLEASE DO NOT pay and download these files. The second one leads me to believe that even though they include the word Broma in the title, they are about computing, not about cacao.
the broma process ebook for downloading
Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques
hello members of chocolatelife,Am back again, sorry to take some of your time. Am really having a hard time with my broma process project. AS part of my search online, i came across some sites that one can download e books on broma process.here are some of the sites: http://bombbook.filegranted.com/1/search.php?q=broma+process&afid=9 http://expertload.com/?mod=search&q=broma+process i tried downloading, but i have to pay first. My problem is that am in Ghana, and we don't use such credit cards here, so i would to plead with you to help find people who out of their own free will would like to download the ebook(s) and send it to me, i don't need their credit cards (for security reasons), i only need the ebooks, my email address is captainken1@ymail.comthanks in advance for your co-operationchocolate life memberKenneth Mensah
updated by @kenneth mensah: 04/11/25 09:27:36
Panning machine experts?
Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques
Excellent. Let me know if I can help. I'd have been there in a heart beat if the schedule allowed.
Panning machine experts?
Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques
hi kerry,the pan has a fan/blower attachment. actually, i think we've located someone now to come and meet with us and show us the tricks of our machine. i'll let you know if we need more help but i'm told these folks know their stuff. hope so! thanks for being in touch. i'll let you know how it turns out!
Panning machine experts?
Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques
What are you using to warm and cool?
Panning machine experts?
Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques
Hi Kerry,Yes, chocolate only, covering nuts, coffee beans, etc. We have a 24" pan with two bowls, one ribbed, one smooth.
Panning machine experts?
Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques
Roni-Sue,What do you plan to do with the panning machine? Strictly chocolate?
Panning machine experts?
Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques
I have a brand new commercial panning machine and my staff and I have limited experience with such equipment and thepanning processin general. We would like to hire a panning expert in the NYC area to come into our shop and do a hands on tutorial for us. Please spread the word to help us find someone and let us know if you can fill the bill, thanks!
Also, if you have materials you have found helpful, I'd appreciate if you would let me know about them. I've found some on-line and have down-loaded them but there's nothing like a real face to face hands on experience to learn something!
updated by @Roni-Sue: 04/11/25 09:27:36
Adding Own Ingredients.
Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques
Thanks for the information - Obviously I'm no Chocolatier yet would like to add my own ingredients where possible.How about honey as a form of sweetning?Thanks again.
Adding Own Ingredients.
Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques
Liquid milk, liquor or fruit juice can't be used in chocolate. It will cause the chocolate to seize. Those liquids can however be used if making a ganche.You can add cocoa butter to couverature - however adding sugar may result in a grainy product. Sugar is generally added before the conching process insuring that the particle size becomes very small and thereby preventing it from be detected as crystalline by the tongue.
Adding Own Ingredients.
Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques
Hi,
I naturally have thought of adding my own ingredients to a 99%couverture chocolate I can get hold of. Is this an easy thing to do i.e can Ijust simply add my own milk powder and cocoa butter to a melted chocolate? can Iadd things like a liquor, Cognac or even fruit juice, for example juicedstraberries ect?
PS. Can I use liquid milk instead of powdered form? I'mfrom England and there's a chocolate bar that states it uses real milk.Obviously I can't stand the thing now that I'm aware of decentchocolate.
Thanks.
updated by @Mark Wilton: 04/11/25 09:27:36
What happened to De Vries?
Posted in: News & New Products Press
Thanks for the update. Unfortunately no chocolate is for sale on his website.
What happened to De Vries?
Posted in: News & New Products Press
Just updating this to note that DeVries did appear at the DC event last month.